Archives
December 2010
Another year has come to a close, and a bright new future awaits -- and the December issue of RECORDING is here, packed full of great gift hints to end 2010 and good advice to take us into 2011!
Our year-end Gift Guide is back and bigger than ever, with reviews of over three dozen new products from a wide variety of manufacturers. Read our reports and buy with confidence -- we review USB interfaces, monitors, field recorders, studio tools, controllers, software, soundware, musical instruments, and even iPhone apps, all with an eye to making sure your holiday treats don't disappoint.
Beyond the Gift Guide, we offer a detailed first look at Royer Labs' affordable new R-101 ribbon mic, the handy and sweet-sounding Avenson IsoDI, studio acoustics aids from Primacoustic, the genre-defining Guitar Jack from Sonoma Wire Works, and a peek at Yamaha's impressive new AvantGrand digital piano.
But it's not all about gear for the holidays. Also in this issue, we look ahead to the New Year with interviews and articles on recording musicians who have found new and exciting ways to profit from their work, from TV themes to video games to pooling resources in order to bring in more clients. You'll find inspiration and great new ideas to help with your resolution to get more out of your recordings in the coming year!
All this plus our ongoing series on protecting your music and your rights, Readers' Tapes with Marty Peters, and much more! Find the perfect gifts to ring out the old year, and inspiring new studio directions to ring in the new -- all in the December RECORDING!
Pick it up now on the newsstand... and so you get your next issue early (and save on cost), why not hit the big red Subscribe Now button on this page and have RECORDING delivered to your door each month?
RECORDING's 2010 Holiday Gift Guide
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay, Paul Vnuk Jr., Lorenz Rychner, Fernando Curiel, Nick Casares, and Gary Eskow
RECORDING's 2010 Holiday Gift Guide |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay, Paul Vnuk Jr., Lorenz Rychner, Fernando Curiel, Nick Casares, and Gary Eskow
For your holiday buying pleasure: short reviews of 34 products!
Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 headphones; Zoom H1 Handy Recorder; Steinberg CI1 and CI2+; M-Audio Axiom Keyboard Controllers; Sonnox Oxford Reverb plug-in; Abbey Roa......Expand
For your holiday buying pleasure: short reviews of 34 products!
Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 headphones; Zoom H1 Handy Recorder; Steinberg CI1 and CI2+; M-Audio Axiom Keyboard Controllers; Sonnox Oxford Reverb plug-in; Abbey Road Studios RS 1224 Compressor plug-in; Apogee ONE; Peterson iStroboSoft app; Modartt Pianoteq PLAY plug-in and add-ons; Alesis MultiMix 8 USB FX mixer; Beta Monkey Drum Werks Volumes XV -- XVIII; Line 6 FBV MkII USB Pedalboards; Focal Professional CMS 50 Monitors and CMS Sub; PSP Audioware PSP 85 delay plug-in; SM Pro Audio Q-Series audio tools; Akai APC20 Ableton Performance Controller; MOTU ZBox; Mackie Onyx Blackjack USB audio interface; Godlyke Power-Grip Pedal Mounting Tape; Korg monotron; Blue Yeti and Icicle; Behringer TRUTH B1030A monitors; Dark Side Of The Tune Twisted Cistern; EarPeace ear plugs.
Read all these reviews in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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Royer Labs R-101 Ribbon Microphone
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Royer Labs R-101 Ribbon Microphone |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Royer's most affordable ribbon to date has a sound that carries on a proud tradition.
About 12 years ago Royer Labs ignited the ribbon microphone revolution with its R-121 microphone. Now in 2010, that same model, side-by-si......Expand
Royer's most affordable ribbon to date has a sound that carries on a proud tradition.
About 12 years ago Royer Labs ignited the ribbon microphone revolution with its R-121 microphone. Now in 2010, that same model, side-by-side with a Shure SM57, is possibly the de facto standard of modern rock'n'roll guitar recording.
Royer only released a total of seven ribbon mics over the past decade, and most of those were variations on the R-121 and SF-12 themes (passive and phantom-powered, mono and stereo, solid state and tube-based), so the not previously announced release of the R-101 was an exciting surprise...
Read more in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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Primacoustic IsoTools
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Primacoustic IsoTools |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Five handy studio gadgets cover a variety of day-to-day needs.
While primarily known for room treatment solutions, Canada's Primacoustic also offers a line of products known as IsoTools. Each of these items is designed to ai......Expand
Five handy studio gadgets cover a variety of day-to-day needs.
While primarily known for room treatment solutions, Canada's Primacoustic also offers a line of products known as IsoTools. Each of these items is designed to aid in solving common studio and stage problems with isolation, improving your miked sounds. The first IsoTools product we reviewed was the Recoil Stabilizer speaker isolation pads (March 2008), and now we have five new IsoTools products to check out, any of which would make an awesome gift...
Read more in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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Avenson Audio IsoDI
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Reviewed by
Dave Martin
Avenson Audio IsoDI |
Reviewed by
Dave Martin
This DI box has some extra tricks under the hood for maximum sound quality in difficult installations.
Avenson Audio is a Texas-based company that makes handy tools that sound great and are often overlooked by bigger players......Expand
This DI box has some extra tricks under the hood for maximum sound quality in difficult installations.
Avenson Audio is a Texas-based company that makes handy tools that sound great and are often overlooked by bigger players in the audio field; Avenson's Small DI (reviewed June 2006), for example, is a transformerless phantom-powered DI that can fit into any pocket or pouch, while the STO-2 is a matched pair of omnidirectional microphones at a reasonable price. Avenson even makes a reference-quality headphone amplifier with an interesting crossfeed circuit that intentionally reduces the extreme separation that headphones can exhibit.
But today’s discussion is about the Avenson Audio IsoDI -- yet another handy problem-solving tool at a fairly reasonable price...
Read more (including a tutorial on the basics of DI uses and features) in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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Preview: Yamaha AvantGrand
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Reviewed by
Marc Urselli
Preview: Yamaha AvantGrand |
Reviewed by
Marc Urselli
This digital piano sports a world-class sound, with a price to match. Is it relevant to the recording musician?
Editor’s Note: We are bringing you a report on a new piano technology that intrigued us when we were first mad......Expand
This digital piano sports a world-class sound, with a price to match. Is it relevant to the recording musician?
Editor’s Note: We are bringing you a report on a new piano technology that intrigued us when we were first made aware of it. In the 1970s Yamaha brought out an electric piano in the shape of a traditional piano, the by now ubiquitous CP-70 (and its brethren), and last Spring we asked Marc Urselli to attend an event where another Yamaha variation on the electric/electronic piano theme was to be unveiled. Will it, too, become ubiquitous? -- LzR
Yamaha has recently introduced an interesting new hybrid instrument called the AvantGrand, which in essence is a digital piano with physical action and wooden construction. The company makes two versions: the N3, which is approximately the size of a baby grand, and the N2, which is an upright.
To introduce this revolutionary design, on April 24, 2010, Yamaha Artist Services Inc. (YASI) organized a concert by avantgarde jazz/fusion quartet Attention Screen. The group featured classically trained pianist/composer/rock guitarist Bob Reina on the AvantGrand N3, Don Fiorino on guitars, lap steel and electric mandolin (whose CDs with his other bands, Radio I-Ching and Hanuman Sextet, I had recorded at my studio EastSide Sound in New York City), Chris Jones on fretless electric bass, and Mark Flynn on drums and percussion. The quartet played two beautiful sets of their own personal flavor of new music, an original blend of jazz structures, world music sounds, fusion atmospheres, classical references and free improvisations which featured the AvantGrand...
Read more in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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Sonoma Wire Works GuitarJack Model 1 and FourTrack 4.0.1
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Reviewed by
Fernando Curiel
Sonoma Wire Works GuitarJack Model 1 and FourTrack 4.0.1 |
Reviewed by
Fernando Curiel
No-compromise audio interface hardware and a surprisingly powerful multitracker, all for your iPhone.
As you may have noticed, the market for iPod accessories has been booming with all sorts of products, and music applicatio......Expand
No-compromise audio interface hardware and a surprisingly powerful multitracker, all for your iPhone.
As you may have noticed, the market for iPod accessories has been booming with all sorts of products, and music applications are benefiting greatly from this trend. Our friends at Sonoma Wire Works are known for providing easy to use, high quality products for beginners... and for those brave and creative enough to break from the standard modus operandi and do things like recording a full release with iPod music applications!...
Read more in the December 2011 issue of RECORDING!
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Fade Out
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Reviewed by
Frank Gryner
Fade Out |
Reviewed by
Frank Gryner
Becoming the "Pro" in "Producer".
Editor’s Note: In the midst of the end-of-year celebrations, we ask you to put down the bubbly and egg nog and take off the rose-colored glasses while you read what L.A.-based producer Fra......Expand
Becoming the "Pro" in "Producer".
Editor’s Note: In the midst of the end-of-year celebrations, we ask you to put down the bubbly and egg nog and take off the rose-colored glasses while you read what L.A.-based producer Frank Gryner has to say about the sometimes harsh realities of becoming a producer. Ready? Rolling...
Almost anyone can be a producer. A producer is just a guy with a big fat opinion... and some idea of how to get the music to the finish line.
Starting out, the trick is to get people to listen to you... and hopefully hire you. You need to be bringing something to the party. Whether it is some combination of credibility that you've already attained (or had them believe you've attained) and recording equipment/studio, chances are that you got the gig because the guy they really wanted wouldn't work that cheap...
Read more in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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Recording SFX -- A Career Option?
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Interviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
Recording SFX -- A Career Option? |
Interviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
Three sound-effects producers from the far corners of the world -- Tim Prebble, Michael Raphael, and Chuck Russom -- tell us about what it takes to succeed in this unusual, and sometimes lucrative, recording genre.
Three sou......Expand
Three sound-effects producers from the far corners of the world -- Tim Prebble, Michael Raphael, and Chuck Russom -- tell us about what it takes to succeed in this unusual, and sometimes lucrative, recording genre.
Three sound designers from different parts of the world share a curiosity about sounds and a talent for capturing unusual audio. They support each other in mutual friendship as each sells his products on his own website. If you have been thinking about using your gear to chase unusual sounds and selling them online, read what these pros have to say. -- LzR
Read the interviews in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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Theme Music For TV -- A Production Report
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Written by
Andre Fratto
Theme Music For TV -- A Production Report |
Written by
Andre Fratto
When you get the call to create a theme for a new television series, your next steps have to be well-considered, perfectly executed... and fast!
When I mentioned to Recording's Editor that I had just completed the theme musi......Expand
When you get the call to create a theme for a new television series, your next steps have to be well-considered, perfectly executed... and fast!
When I mentioned to Recording's Editor that I had just completed the theme music for a one-hour television drama series called Haven (on the Syfy Network), in my home studio, Lorenz asked me to share with Recording's readers two things: How I got the gig, and what I had to do to deliver...
Read all about it in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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Getting Your Music Heard In Today’s Commercial Culture
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Written by
Justin Matley
Getting Your Music Heard In Today’s Commercial Culture |
Written by
Justin Matley
Enter the strange, wonderful, and rewarding world of music licensing... here's what you need to know.
We all know that the old path to super stardom -- band records demo, demo impresses A&R guy, A&R guy comes to gig, label s......Expand
Enter the strange, wonderful, and rewarding world of music licensing... here's what you need to know.
We all know that the old path to super stardom -- band records demo, demo impresses A&R guy, A&R guy comes to gig, label signs band and spends a fortune making band famous -- isn't exactly the norm any longer. However, that is not to say you can't make some money off your music. It just takes a little more work, and a different approach.
Today, with the collapse of many of the industry's big recording studios, the shrinking contracts and downsizing at record labels, and the reluctance of investors to jolt additional cash into the industry due to obvious economic fears, your music career can really benefit from music licensing...
Read more in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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It’s Your Music -- Know Your Rights. Chapter 9: Trademark Basics
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Written by
Todd Gascon and Bruce Kaphan
It’s Your Music -- Know Your Rights. Chapter 9: Trademark Basics |
Written by
Todd Gascon and Bruce Kaphan
Your band's or studio's good name is a valuable commodity. Learn how to protect it!
What do the Beach Boys, The Wailers and Black Sabbath have in common? They all have been involved in trademark disputes regarding the owners......Expand
Your band's or studio's good name is a valuable commodity. Learn how to protect it!
What do the Beach Boys, The Wailers and Black Sabbath have in common? They all have been involved in trademark disputes regarding the ownership rights to their bands' names. In this article we will discuss some of the basic issues regarding trademark law and what you can do to ensure your band's name is your own and won't be the subject of a lawsuit...
Read more in the December 2010 issue of RECORDING!
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